


The Morning After

by Everyday_Im_Preaching



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Anxiety, Confessions, F/M, Insecurity, Morning After
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-28 00:08:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13259466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everyday_Im_Preaching/pseuds/Everyday_Im_Preaching
Summary: There's always one morning after that we dread--and this is Ryder's.





	The Morning After

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry in advance is this is a little ooc--I wanted to do an idea like this and wasn't sure where to start. I hope you enjoy: and if you do, feel free to leave a comment below!

 

The sun was just  _ barely  _ peeking over the horizon, when Ryder woke; she shifted, not looking at the sunrise, but at her bedmate. Evfra was still fast asleep, breathing slow and even. Ryder could even have called the look  _ peaceful,  _ not that Evfra would ever accept that word as a descriptor. 

“Good morning,” Ryder murmured quietly, so as not to wake him. “Mind if I slip a bit closer?” She scooted closer to him, trying her best not to shake the bed with her movements. She proceeded to carefully lay an arm over his side, and pressed her face against his chest; as if on instinct, his arms came around her, holding her close.

“Are you alright?” Ryder nearly jumped at Evfra’s question. He rubbed a hand over her shoulders, kneading unwanted tension from them. “Ryder?”

The use of her last name panged somewhere deep in her chest, but she ignored it. Instead, she pressed closer, pressing her nose against the deep groove of his collarbone. “’M tired.” Ryder lied, knowing very well that she wasn’t the least bit ready to go back to sleep; she rose early often, whether it be from nightmares or sheer inability to sleep. “Wanted to be near you, but didn’t mean to wake you up.”

Evfra let out a thoughtful hum, taking a second to gather the blankets back around the two of them. He then pulled Ryder closer, if it was possible nestling her tightly in his arms. “Sleep, then. We have a few hours.” Ryder relaxed when lips pressed to the top of her head.

“Thanks.” 

 

Ryder didn’t end up falling back to sleep; when she was assured that Evfra had fallen back asleep, she’d crept to the bathroom, and then the kitchen to cook breakfast. One-night stand she might have been, but Ryder wanted to make sure that she left with a good impression. 

It was a good hour before Evfra rose. He walked into the kitchen groggily, and the look on his face was almost comical when he realised that Ryder was cooking breakfast. Ryder, on the other hand, had to keep her eyes trained on what she was doing. Evfra had deigned not to put on a shirt, and it was distracting.

“I thought you had left.” Evfra revealed, going to stand beside Ryder. She batted at him playfully with her spatula, and then nudged his shoulder. He didn’t move away, in fact, he moved closer; close enough that Ryder could feel his body heat through her dirty shirt from the night before. 

Curious fingers played with the end of her shirt, and she snorted. “Sorry to disappoint.” She moved away from him to grab something, and found herself turned forward by quick, calloused hands and cornered against the counter. “What’s the big idea, punk?” Ryder teased, trying to slip past him, only to be caught again.

“You could have grabbed something clean of mine.” Evfra told her, brow furrowing. He gave her a once-over, lips tilting down in a frown. “I…why are you still here?”

_ Ouch.  _ Ryder winced away from the question. 

_ He seems agitated.  _ SAM announced, and she gritted her teeth. 

“I…thought I’d make you breakfast?” Ryder said tentatively. She cleared her throat, and then threw her shoulders back. “That’s what the women in all the romance vids do. Besides, we both have work today. Can’t have you going into work hungry.” 

Evfra looked her in the eye for a moment, letting out an uncertain hum. “Do you need any help? My cabinets are a far cry from organised.” He stepped away from her, turning to the cabinets in question and gesturing at them. 

“Oh, uh. No. I found everything I needed, so…” Ryder skirted past him, back to the stove. Her hands hovered above the dish she’d been preparing. “…do you want me to leave?” She asked, voice small and uncertain. 

“I think that would have been acceptable, had you left before I woke.” Evfra admitted, walking over to his kitchen table; there was obvious tension lacing through him, stringing his shoulders up high. “But you are here, and are kind enough to cook for me. So, I suppose we should take the time to discuss what happened between us.”

“I guess so.” Ryder muttered. 

_ It’s a normal thing for all species to take part in.  _ SAM offered, and Ryder nodded.  _ It is nothing to be ashamed of, even if it is with Evfra. _

Ryder began to dish up, lips pressed into a firm line. She then sighed, shoulders shifting down with the severity of it. “So, we had sex. That happened.” Ryder picked up the plates in her hands, walking over to the kitchen table and setting them down. 

“It did.” Evfra agreed, waiting patiently as Ryder fetched silverware. “Before you make any assumptions, yes, I did enjoy myself. Greatly.” He caught her eye at the end of his sentence, rumbling out the last words with all the hunger of a predator. “Your skills in bed are nearly as impressive as the ones you display on the battlefield.”

Ryder was caught between laughing and squeaking out a reply; the laughter won out, and she chuckled on her trip back to the table, handing Evfra his cutlery. “No one’s ever come right off the bat and complimented me like that, wow. Thanks.” She sat down, leaning forward. “For the record, I had a lot of fun too. Makes me wonder why you haven’t landed a good woman yet—you could definitely keep her happy.” She made an uncertain noise, playfully narrowing her eyes. “I mean, if she could get past that personality of yours.”

Evfra snorted at her, picking up a fork. 

“I had the same question. Then I realised you had the maturity level of a child.” He dug into the food in front of him. He paused with a bit of egg on his fork. “Ryder.” He closed his eyes, taking a steadying breath. “Sara. I suppose we are past formalities.”

“Only if you want to be.” Ryder replied, picking up a piece of sausage with her fingers and tearing it apart. “I prefer the use of my first name, though. I don’t do well with titles, to be honest. Or formality.” 

Evfra cocked an eye ridge. “And yet you were so polite when you first landed in Aya.” He popped a forkful into his mouth, and made an appreciative noise. “Decent.”

“Don’t you mean  _ eggscellent _ ?” Ryder teased, popping the meat in her hands into her mouth. Evfra let out an exasperated grunt, getting Ryder to laugh. “This planet belongs to the angara. It would be a shame if I was anything less than polite to you and your people. For the most part—I have to say it’s fun to rib you.” 

“Ah, yes. I assume that is where you get most of your entertainment.” Evfra told her with a roll of his eyes. “But we are dancing around the true conversation—I will be blunt—” 

_ Oh god, here it comes.  _ Ryder thought, reflexively. The world slowed down around her.  _ Welcome, once again, to the ‘ditch Ryder’ games. He’s going to tell me that, while it was fun, we should move on like it never happened.  _ Ryder’s fists clenched against her bare thighs. 

She must have looked off, because Evfra paused. “Are you alright?” 

Ryder smiled stiffly at him, shaking her head. Her nails were digging into her palms now, and she tried to calm her heart. It wasn’t necessarily because of the awaited rejection; she knew this was a one-off. She’d had plenty before. But this one was different, because she actually  _ liked  _ Evfra. He wasn’t just some handsome stranger she met at a bar, but an actual man she was  _ friends  _ with. One that she had fantasied being in a relationship with. 

“What’s wrong?” Evfra questioned. “SAM? What’s wrong with Sara?”

“ _ There is nothing physically wrong with the pathfinder. She is simply nervous. _ ” SAM supplied, his voice smoothing over Ryder’s rattled nerves. 

“Yeah, sorry.” Ryder got out, her smile turning somewhat genuine. “Go ahead, I promise I’m listening.” 

Evfra looked at her, uncertain. “As I said, I am going to be blunt. I would like to do this again. But I have no desire to ruin our current relationship, or make you uncomfortable in it.” 

“You…want to be friends with benefits?” Ryder croaked out, the words sounds foreign in her mouth. “Woah.” She tried to wrap her brain around it; it wasn’t exactly what she was looking for, imagination wise, but it was a place to start.

“Not necessarily. I would prefer to court you, and take you as a lover.” Evfra told her, still sounding confused. “Do I come across as a man who would have the time or patience to deal with you in such an uncertain position? It is emotionally confusing, to be…friends with benefits. I prefer to be straightforward with my relationships.”

“Wait, you slept with me once, and decided that that was grounds enough to date me?” Ryder asked, looking down between her thighs. “What kind of voodoo magic do I have going on down there?” 

It sounded like SAM laughed, somewhere in the back of her mind.  _ Your vagina has no supernatural qualities, Sara.  _ Ryder ignored him in favour of smiling at her own joke.

“It’s not just that.” Evfra told her dryly, obviously not impressed at her attempt at humour. “I enjoy your company. Your wit, as detestable as it can be at times.” He looked at the food in front of him, and then back up at Ryder. “And your kindness. Your reliability—and your beauty is hard to ignore, as it comes across in everything you do, and you treat your emotions much like the angaran do. You do not shy from them.” 

Evfra caught Ryder’s eye, holding her gaze. “I have come to adore you.” 

Ryder stared at him. She had a dozen questions, but instead she just stared, uncertain of how to get her body to work. Ryder furrowed her brow and opened her mouth, just to close it and keep  _ staring.  _ Evfra shifted in his seat, obviously uncomfortable with the silence. 

“Evfra.” Ryder said his name quietly, turning her eyes toward the kitchen table. Tears were coming unbidden; she pressed her palms to her eyes. “Evfra, you’re…you’re…” She shook her head, raising her head to once again smile at the angara with shining eyes. “…I would love to be with you. God, I’m stupid. If I had known earlier, I would have—”

Evfra snorted, offering a hand across the table. Ryder took it, squeezing his fingers tightly. “—what would you have done? Jumped me earlier?” 

“I would have confessed first.” Ryder told him thickly. “You had to say it the cutest way possible, huh? Adoring me and all that.” Again, she wiped at her eyes. She brought Evfra’s hand to her cheek, shaking her head. He cupped her cheek, rubbing his thumb along it gently. “I can’t believe this.”

“Is it truly that hard to fathom? You are an incredible woman.” Evfra told her gently. “I have never met anyone quite like you, Sara. I feel lucky that you haven’t already been swept away by the wiles of another.”

Ryder scoffed, cracking an eye open. She hadn’t realised she’d closed them. “Please. Nobody wants to date the pathfinder. I’m too childish, or too serious, or too consumed by my work. It throws people off.”

“Whomever said you were too serious hasn’t met you, I feel. There’s nothing remotely serious about you.” Evfra let his hand wander upward, carding through Ryder’s hair. “And if it weren’t for your desire to work, your people would be dead. I find your dedication attractive.” 

“Only because you’re also a workaholic.” Ryder told him, kissing at his wrist. “I’m so lucky.” He looked about ready to argue, but Ryder let out a hum. “Don’t you even consider arguing with me, or I’m going to cry some more. A lot more. By the time I’m done, your apartment will be flooded, and you’d lose your ugly ass couch.”

“My couch is not ugly.”

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s  _ horrendously  _ ugly. I don’t see how you have these nice curtains, and all your wooden furniture is so nice—but then you have that  _ couch.  _ It doesn’t match anything.” Ryder picked up her fork, stabbing into her new lukewarm food.

“Don’t ruin this morning, Sara.” Evfra warned. “We have a long day ahead, and I’d like to bathe in the afterglow a bit longer—who knows what hell we’ll be thrown into today.”

Ryder tipped her head down, smile widening. She shovelled another bite into her mouth, barely swallowing before speaking. “One where I get to use my shotgun.”  

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there, fam.
> 
> Song for this fic:  
> All Falls Down by Alan Walker, Noah Cyrus
> 
> Want to stay updated? Click [here](http://everyday-im-preaching.tumblr.com/) to stay in the know!


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